JUNE SQUIBB A Leading Lady at 94!

AFTER DECADES ONSTAGE AND ONSCREEN, THE VETERAN PERFORMER HEADLINES HER FIRST MOVIE AND DOES HER OWN STUNTS TOO

- ERIC ANDERSSON

One of the walls in June Squibb's L.A. apartment is lined with framed keepsakes from her seven decades of acting: a collage of memorabilia from Gorey Stories, a 1978 Broadway show she starred in; a photo of Squibb and late Broadway luminary Sheila Smith; a sketch titled Peaches & Cream, the nicknames Squibb and Amy Schumer gave themselves while making the 2021 movie The Humans. "I had a certain amount of success," says Squibb, reflecting on her lengthy career and more recent recognition. "It's funny to me, after all these years, people now act like this is the first time I've done it."

Squibb is no showbiz novice, but with her new movie Thelma, she is marking an important milestone: At age 94, she has her first headlining role in a film. "A leading lady of ninetysomething. You don't see that very often!" she notes with awry smile. She plays the title character, a kindly grandmother who falls prey to a phone scam and loses $10,000. Feeling angry and foolish, she takes inspiration from Tom Cruise in the